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TRP: Amren, Goro, and Larkin (How to Question a Dragon)
Word Count: 4002 Jen: '''at 4:28 PM Morning of day 179, Castle dungeons It was early in the morning but Amren was already awake. Not very cozy sleeping, with his wrists in cuffs and a soggy wad of cloth stuffed in his mouth. The four armed people glaring down at him through the bars probably didn't help either. Amren looked up as they filed in. Probably knew what was coming but just in case, Larkin decided to start them off without any misconceptions. She took the bucket of mopping water someone had been too lazy to empty out and sloshed it through the bars. "Mornin' buddy," she said and set the bucket aside. "Time for a chat." '''Lina: '''at 4:39 PM Goro unlocked the cell door, then tossed the keys to Jasper. He stepped inside and squatted down next to Amren, making himself comfortable, arms resting on his knees. He examined Amren for a while, head tilting to the side. Then he made a big, exaggerated pout, eyes watering. "Oh, Goro, please, save him! You have to! I can't let him die! Please, Goro, please! Pff." He shook his head. "Fuckin' Roddy. He doesn't want us to kill you, can you fucking believe it? Sentimentality. I was never a fan." Goro tilted his head the other way, then leaned in a little closer, eyebrows going up. "But. You know. He could hardly blame us if we had to kill you again in self-defense. Don't you think? Wait, hang on. Lark, how do we make it look like self-defense? I forgot." '''Jen: '''at 4:43 PM Larkin moved after him to lean lazily back against the doorframe, well out of reach of any of Amren's limbs. "We kill him and afterwards we use his claws to give us some nice scratches." She clutched a hand to her chest, wincing in fake pain. "Ah, fuck! He tried to rip my throat out!" '''Lina: '''at 4:47 PM Goro snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "That's right. Perfect. Good, I don't want to hurt Roddy's feelings, or anything." He looked back to Amren. "But, before we get too hasty... I suppose you can change our minds. I suppose I can be persuaded. How about we let you talk a bit before we decide, yeah? Hey, Raef." Goro stood up and stepped back, gesturing down at Amren. "Let the poor fella give us a piece of his mind." '''Mink: '''at 4:49 PM It had been forever since he had sat in on an interrogation and this had to be the most amusing. He had missed this. "No fucking problem," he said as he walked over to Amren. He patted the side of the small dragonborn's face with a smile. "Be a good boy and listen to them." He pulled out the gag and stepped back beside Jasper, dropping the rag to the ground. '''Izzy: '''at 4:54 PM Amren took a deep breath and snarled slightly, looking between the group of them with wide eyes. '''Jen: '''at 4:57 PM "So? Got anything to say for yourself?" Larkin smirked seeing the look on his face. '''Izzy: '''at 4:59 PM His eyes kept darting between them for a second; then they narrowed as they settled on Larkin, and he spat, "Fuck you." '''Lina: '''at 5:01 PM Goro gasped and put a hand to his chest. He shared a look with Larkin and shook his head. "So rude. So very rude. You know you're in the presence of the lords of the castle here, right? You should mind your manners." Goro crouched down next to him again. "Tell me why we should keep you alive." '''Izzy: '''at 5:03 PM "Doesn't matter what I say." His voice shook. "You're gonna kill me no matter what." '''Jen: '''at 5:07 PM Larkin tilted her head to glance at Goro, back at Amren, then at Goro again. "Y'know, man, Roddy's our friend." '''Lina: '''at 5:09 PM Goro looked at Larkin for a moment, pretending like they were having a silent conversation. He blew out a sigh and shifted his shoulders around, looking back to Amren. "Alright, so, we might've gotten a little carried away at the beginning, there." '''Jen: '''at 5:19 PM "Hmm. Yeah." Larkin was silent for a moment as she stared at Amren, biting her lower lip as if worrying at a thought but really trying to contain a smirk. She drummed her fingers against the steel bars, then shoved them into a pocket. "Well, look. If it was just my buddies and me here," she nodded at Goro and glanced at Raef and Jasper, "we'd just make you tell us what we wanna know then give you a big old smile in the neck. But Roddy, he doesn't want you dead, god knows why. And we don't want Roddy sad, sooo..." she rolled her eyes and whirled a hand in the air, indicating how airheaded that was. "Anyway, point is, there's a pretty good chance you'll walk out of here alive. If you talk. And on top of that, you even get to choose how many body parts you'll take with you." Her hand came back out of the pocket, pulling a knife with it, and now Larkin did grin. "How's that sound?" '''Izzy: '''at 5:22 PM He swallowed, and eyed the knife, then looked back to Larkin's face. "I'm not sayin' shit." His voice cracked on the last word. Beautiful Coyote at 5:30 PM Ha. Jasper watched them banter back and forth. These guys were great. What an excellent little shady cleric. And what an excellent bastard Larkin was. It gave her warm fuzzy feelings. Jasper crunched contentedly on her apple while they worked. Then he started showing resistance. Well. That was no good. Jasper knew how to help with this. “Well, I guess he’s not telling us anything,” she said. She pushed herself away from the wall, casually sauntered over, then slammed her fist into the wall next to his head. She crushed the apple as she did it. She showed him the pulped mess, then dropped it on the floor next to him. She grabbed Amren’s head and moved like she was going to smash it into the wall, just like the apple. '''Izzy: '''at 5:32 PM Amren screwed his eyes shut and waited. '''Lina: '''at 5:34 PM "Jasper! For fuck's sake, slow the fuck down!" Goro leapt to his feet. "He's not even trying to hurt anyone!" Beautiful Coyote at 5:41 PM Goddamn. Normally that worked on folks— but the dragonborn just shut his eyes and waited. Jasper dropped him instinctively, frowning. She took a step back, regarding him. She wasn’t really gonna hurt him, and the fact he just sat there and took it caught her off guard. Apparently death threats weren’t gonna work here. '''Jen: '''at 5:49 PM God dammit. Problem with death threats was, you couldn't follow through with them if there was still something you wanted; people like Amren were smart enough to know that. He had to be shown they were serious, and that they'd do things to him that made death seem preferable- but out of reach. Torture basics. They had to make Amren believe talking was his only way of winning here. Larkin waited for them to settle, then shook her head. "Yeah, it's too early to off him and he know's it. Gotta try some stuff before that." '''Lina: '''at 5:54 PM "We're not gonna off him, you nutcases! I thought we were just trying to intimidate him!" Goro looked among the rest of them, holding his hands out like he was at a loss. "I fucking told Roddy we wouldn't!" '''Jen: '''at 6:00 PM "Oh, shut the fuck up," Larkin said without much conviction. "We don't have to fucking kill him, we just have to beat whatever his boss promised to do to him." She turned to look at Raef. "Hey, you got your skinning knives with you?" '''Izzy: '''at 6:02 PM Amren's eyes widened a bit. '''Mink: '''at 6:03 PM Yeah. These people were fucking great, and really did fucking miss the thrill of watching someone squirm. "Sure fucking do," he said with a smile, reaching down to pull out the slender blade tucked in his boot. He twirled it as he watched Amren. Beautiful Coyote at 6:05 PM That was some admirable threatening. Maybe it’d work. Maybe not, though. Jasper crouched down to look Amren in the eye. His eyes had widened a little. “Hey. What are you so afraid of? What do you think Wyn’s gonna do to you?” '''Izzy: '''at 6:08 PM His eyes flicked between Jasper and Raef. and he opened his mouth a little, then hesitated. "What, you looking for ideas? Fuck off." '''Mink: '''at 6:13 PM Amren was either brave, stupid, or both. Raef believed the latter - the dragon was frightened, but he wasn't talking. He turned the knife lazily as he walked over and crouched in front of Amren. He rested his hand on Amren's thigh, the hilt between them. "I don't need any ideas, Amren," he said with a soft smile. "I've skinned bigger beasts than you alive, and I've been around a lot longer than Wyn." '''Izzy: '''at 6:15 PM Amren grit his teeth and closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them again to glare at Raef. "Do your worst, motherfucker." '''Jen: '''at 6:16 PM Larkin caught Raef's glance and nodded. '''Lina: '''at 6:28 PM Goro was thinking. He needed to change tactics--pretending to be on Amren's side wasn't going to get him shit. Amren was fucking scared. Of Wyn, apparently. He wondered how many people in the Sanguines knew who was really at the top. If Amren did, it'd be good leverage. If he didn't, Goro was going to have to bluff his way through. Either would be fine, he decided. "Eh, you guys are wasting your time, anyway." Goro crouched down beside Amren again and smiled. "Listen, kiddo, you're worried about the wrong thing, here. Wyn's not gonna find you. I'll make sure of that. If you won't work with us, I'll just take you on a little trip, far out of the way. To Sienna Springs." '''Mink: '''at 6:31 PM Raef glanced between Larkin and Goro before he stood up. They could handle it more tactfully than he could. Probably with a lot less bloodshed. He stepped back beside Jasper - if they needed something done, he could do it. It was easier, and safer, to follow orders no matter how it felt. '''Izzy: '''at 6:33 PM Amren watched Raef back off, looking a little puzzle behind his facade of anger, then turned his attention back to Goro. Kept the same look on. Confused. '''Lina: '''at 6:44 PM "Doesn't ring a bell, huh? I must've gotten a more exclusive peek than you did. Sienna Springs is where the boss is. The big boss. Bosses, I should say. Picture this, Amren--I march you right up to them, tied up just like you are now, with the gag back in your mouth, and I say--this little snitch told me everything. He's the one who told me where to find you. He's the one who told me Wyn's a fucking figurehead. He's the one who told me you keep tabs on her with those goddamn familiars of yours. "Now, now, I know what you're thinking--what the hell's the fucking point of telling me anything more? Why give me even more ammunition?" Goro paused and glanced up at his companions, then back to Amren. "'Cause I'm offering you a deal, you little shit, and you can take it with a grain of salt but I'd still suggest you take it. Tell us what we want to know, and I'll turn you loose. Never breathe a word to anyone about where I learned it all. Keep your scaley little mouth shut, though, and we're gonna be taking that trip I talked about." Goro leaned back and held his hands out, bobbing them up and down like they were a scale. "Sure, maybe I'm full of shit. Do you wanna take a chance, anyway? Or should I go pack my bags right now?" '''Izzy: '''at 6:46 PM Amren's eyes widened as Goro spoke, locked onto him. His voice had gone high-pitched and trembled, but he still tried to sound defiant. "Yeah. Okay. Pack up. Let's go." '''Jen: '''at 6:59 PM Damn, that had been one hell of a speech. And Amren wanted to take those chances? Larkin frowned down at him, tried to catch Goro's eyes. Something was clearly going over their heads here. That, or Amren didn't believe they'd follow through on their threats. Well, at least that could be remedied. "This is bullshit." She pushed away from the door and picked up the gag, then walk over to Amren. She kicked him in the stomach, without warning, and when he doubled over, shoved the rag back into his mouth. "You're done talking for now." Her hand went to his throat, pushing his head pack against the wall, and the tip of her knife scraped across his cheek until it caught at the edge of a scale. She pushed it under. '''Izzy: '''at 7:00 PM Amren's teeth clenched around the gag and he closed his eyes again. '''Lina: '''at 7:13 PM "Larkin, cut it out." Goro climbed to his feet. "Don't damage the merchandise, you get what I'm saying? Let's go. We gotta pack." He waved her out of the cell, then spoke to Jasper. "Get some more rope. Bind his arms to his body, and cover his head. I want him unrecognizable while we're out and about." He walked to the doorway, beckoning for Larkin to follow, giving her a look he hoped said I have something to tell you, get out here. '''Jen: '''at 7:15 PM Larkin gave Goro an irritated look but got up and followed. '''Lina: '''at 7:17 PM Goro took her by the elbow and pulled her out of the dungeon. Once they were out of earshot, he whispered, "Let's let him think we're taking him to Sienna Springs. But really--" he smiled-- "let's take him to your uncle." '''Jen: '''at 7:21 PM Larkin opened her mouth to say something but shut it again and grinned. She threw an arm around Goro's shoulder and patted him on the back. Brilliant bastard. How she loved him. '''Lina: '''at 10:28 AM An hour or so later--Goro left some extra time to give the illusion of preparing for a longer trip--they had Amren strapped to the back of a horse, bag on his head, gag in mouth. "Hm, this is a problem," Goro said to Larkin. "We take the gag out he and he might be able to scream for help, but if we leave it in, he can't answer any questions. You hear that, buddy?" He patted Amren on the shoulder. "We can put a stop to this any time, just as soon as you decide you wanna start talking. We'll turn right back around." '''Jen: '''at 10:40 AM "Man, we've given that little shit enough chances to change his mind," Larkin said, meaning it. "I like 'em better like this. The cussing gets annoying." She leaned in to Goro and in a tone that was quieter, but still loud enough to be heard by Amren, said, "Let's question him again when we make camp tonight. Might just be enough." Hopefully Goro was right about Amren just bluffing. If so, all they had to do was convince him they were taking him to the Queen. '''Lina: '''at 10:47 AM "Yeah, yeah, alright," Goro said, matching her volume. Then he spoke to Amren again. "Alright, how about this. Three grunts--hng hng hng--means 'ungag me, I'm ready to talk.' Two grunts--hng hng--means 'let me up, I gotta pee, and Goro doesn't want me pissing on the horse.' One grunt means 'fuck you.' Got it?" '''Izzy: '''at 10:48 AM He grunted once. '''Jen: '''at 11:01 AM "You know what, this is actually kinda nice." Larkin slouched back in the saddle, unsure how to sit comfortably on a horse but steady enough to enjoy the view of the landscape. The animal seemed to have a very forgiving temper, too. "We never get to spend so much time together. This is like vacation." '''Lina: '''at 11:12 AM "We got plenty of time to catch up," Goro said, leading the horse carrying Amren by the reins. "Near as I could tell from the map Sienna Springs is a good ten days away." '''Jen: '''at 11:17 AM "You ever heard of camping? It's like being homeless on the road, just on purpose. Rich city people do it for fun." Larkin kept watching Amren but there was no indication he was listening to them at all. Whatever did Wyn promise to do to him he thought the Runners weren't capable of? She signed to Goro. Keep going? '''Lina: '''at 11:45 AM He shook his head. Signed, Hang back. Give me a minute. '''Made eye contact with Raef to make sure he got it too. "Hey, did you guys fucking hear that? Would you go check that ditch over there? I wanna make sure we're not being followed." Larkin steered her horse to the side a little, letting Goro pull on ahead. Raef kept his distance. Goro walked alongside the horse, close enough to whisper to Amren. "Hey. Buddy. I'm gonna get you out of this. I'm gonna get you back to Wyn." He reached his hand under the bag on Amren's head and pulled the gag loose. "Don't scream. I need you to help me out, here." '''Izzy: '''at 11:46 AM Amren was quiet. '''Jen: '''at 11:49 AM Larkin fell back, watching, hoping whatever plan Goro had come up with now would work. Her hand went to her crossbow when she saw him reach for Amren. '''Lina: '''at 11:50 AM "Atta boy," Goro whispered. "Listen, that shit about Wyn's bosses, and the familiars spying on her--I got that straight from her. I'm trying to help her. She's like, fuckin', under their thumb or something, right? Roddy said something about the Sanguine Queen. Who the fuck's that?" '''Izzy: '''at 11:52 AM He stayed silent for a stretch, the mumbled, "Don't know." '''Lina: '''at 11:53 AM "How'd you hear that name at all? I can't imagine Wyn fucking said it out loud, with those goddamn dragons sitting on her all the time." Goro gave a thumbs up to Larkin and Raef, and Stay back. Another minute. '''Izzy: '''at 11:55 AM "I ..." He hesitated, and whispered, "I got orders straight from her, one time." '''Lina: '''at 11:56 AM "You're a real good liar, Amren. A fuckin' champ." '''Izzy: '''at 11:57 AM He hissed. "Fuck you, then." '''Lina: '''at 11:59 AM "Aw, no thanks." Goro checked to make sure Larkin and Raef were still keeping their distance, then he whispered as quietly as possible, "I got your boss for that." He leaned away and snorted to himself. Raef was signing at him to get a description of the Sanguine Queen. Goro still thought it was fucking bullshit, but if he could get Amren to talk more, so much the better. "Orders straight from the top, huh?" he mused. "Describe her. The Sanguine Queen." '''Izzy: '''at 12:08 PM "Ah, uh." He stammered for a moment. "I didn't see her. She -- she talks through those little pseudodragons." '''Lina: '''at 12:10 PM Huh. "No shit? Are they both hers, then? I figured maybe there were two of them. The Sanguine Queen and someone else." '''Izzy: '''at 12:10 PM "Don't know. The red one talked to me." '''Lina: '''at 12:16 PM Hmm. Last night, it'd been the blue one that showed up when Wyn kicked Goro out. If there was a second boss, maybe Amren really didn't know about it. Goro had told himself he'd consider anything coming out of Amren's mouth a potential lie, though, no matter how true it sounded. Still, no harm in asking more. "What'd her voice sound like? Anything special about it?" '''Izzy: '''at 12:18 PM He was quiet for another moment, and his voice trembled when he did speak. "Umm. Sounded like ... fire. Sounded like -- a bunch of voices talking at once." '''Lina: '''at 12:21 PM "What... the... fuck?" The hair on the back of Goro's neck stood on end. "What the fuck? Was Wyn there, or did this thing just approach you alone?" '''Izzy: '''at 12:24 PM "She was there," he whispered. "She was right there. I don't think she knew it talked to me." '''Lina: '''at 12:28 PM "Uh, that's uh, that's fucking horrific, huh." Goro ground his teeth and walked for a while, thinking. Something didn't add up. "I want to know how you know she's scared. Roddy said you said she's scared of the Sanguine Queen." '''Izzy: '''at 12:33 PM "I -- uh, I told her it'd talked to me and she seemed real freaked out? She told me it was the Sanguine Queen." Then he mumbled, "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone." '''Lina: '''at 12:40 PM "Yeah well, we're on the same fucking side now, aren't we? I wanna help her." Goro poured a desperate tenderness into his voice, making it sound like he was lovesick. It wasn't hard, emotional as he fucking was since Hansel left. "What did it tell you to do?" '''Izzy: '''at 12:50 PM He mumbled incoherently for a while, clearly unsure and uncomfortable. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone. The Queen said. Not Morgan. She doesn't even know." '''Lina: '''at 12:51 PM Goro grabbed onto Amren's bindings and yanked him closer. "Did she tell you to hurt Morgan?" '''Izzy: '''at 12:52 PM "No!" he hissed. '''Lina: '''at 12:52 PM "I want to know what the hell was so fucking classified not even she was supposed to know about it! She's supposed to be the fucking leader out here!" '''Izzy: '''at 12:54 PM Amren yipped in alarm, then snapped, "If I'm not telling her, what makes you think I'll tell you?" '''Jen: '''at 1:00 PM "Hey! Goro!" Something was going on there. Larkin sped the horse into a short sprint, coming up beside them. "What's going on? He getting ballsy?" '''Lina: '''at 1:03 PM "He ain't said a goddamn thing," Goro said, scowling and waving her off. Damn it, he almost had something. "I'm telling him all the shit we're gonna do to him if he doesn't talk." '''Jen: '''at 1:05 PM "Huh. Could've sworn I heard him talk." Larkin made the sign for bluff, then again directed at Goro. '''Lina: '''at 1:06 PM "Yelling around his gag, maybe. Did you find anyone in the ditch, or not?" '''Jen: '''at 1:10 PM "Nah, it's all clear. Raef is watching our back though." She dropped her voice to a mutter again. "I'm gonna go scout ahead. Think you can handle him alone?" '''Lina: '''at 1:14 PM "'Course I can. Does he look like much of a threat to you in his current condition?" Goro waited until Larkin had trotted ahead before he spoke again. "To answer your question, you little turd, when I say I'm on your side, that only holds true so long as you're on Morgan Wyn's side. So you'd better put my fucking mind at ease, before I go checking with her to see what exactly I'm allowed to do to you. What were the fucking orders Morgan wasn't supposed to know about?" '''Izzy: '''at 1:17 PM "Check with her, then," he hissed. "She knows I'm loyal." '''Lina: '''at 1:26 PM "Eh. She'll just have to have my sincerest apologies once I've already fed you to the Queen." Goro reached under the bag and shoved the gag back into Amren's mouth. '''Jen: '''at 11:35 AM END Title: How To Question A Dragon, Summary: The Runners try to interrogate Amren. Be proves stubborn until Goro makes him believe they're on the same side. Larkin and Goro take him to the Basha. Category:Text Roleplay